Writing Workshop

This month (February 2018) I’m teaching a class on deep point of view for the Outreach International Chapter of RWA (OIRWA). During the class one of the participants asked how to show point of view within a dialogue exchange where several people are speaking. This is a great question, so I thought I’d share my response in a couple of posts here.

The same techniques that eliminate common dialogue problems also create the viewpoint character’s DIALOGUE EXPERIENCE and anchor the point of view within the dialogue. The combined effect is much stronger dialogue that maintains point of view.

In long strings of dialogue, we can discern that we need a silent beat when the topic changes subtly, when the dialogue needs motivation to function optimally, or when the dialogue just seems to go on for too long in an unbroken fashion.

Yellow Highlighter Classes are a unique type of class. While other classes offer advice and theory and the occasional homework to teach the basics of one writing-related element or another, Yellow Highlighter classes are entirely hands-on classes. They start where you are by using your own work in progress and working steadily through your manuscript addressing the issues within the manuscript as they come up. Working this way allows class participants to gain an understanding of a variety of topics through each post and each markup. The result is a broader, more internalized, hands-on form of learning that results in a completed and edited manuscript at the end of a series of classes.

One of the things I hear often from people who have taken Yellow Highlighter Classes is how much they used to hate editing and how much they’ve come to enjoy it.

For most people, I think, editing is a bit overwhelming. When we hit the editing phase we’re striving for perfection and yet, when we sit down at our desks or in our easy chairs with our laptops and settle into the process of editing, a lot of what we see is imperfection. That’s because editing is a process…it’s done in layers, not in one giant editing pass. My Yellow Highlighter Classes were developed to help people work through this process in a step by step way that results in a completed manuscript at the end of a series of classes sufficient to work through the entire manuscript.

In the past, I’ve sold 700-word seats. People who wanted 1400 words (the most common number of words) bought two 700-word sessions to accomplish their 1400 words. Beginning with the May 2018 session (which was last month’s registration), I will no longer be offering 700-word sessions. I will only be offering 1400-word sessions. The price for 1400-word sessions will be $120 which is the same price as two 700-word sessions have been in the past.

I don’t make many changes to things that work – why fix what isn’t broken – right?

That said, the popularity of Yellow Highlighter Classes, the long waiting list for sold-out classes, and the number of people who are disappointed when they don’t get into the classes on registration day have necessitated a couple of changes that I am excited about.

There are many different types of writing classes. I teach many different classes myself. In fact, I just finished organizing my 2018 teaching schedule for OIRW. I’m pleased to announce that I will be teaching one class each month for them. There are some old favorite classes that are always popular, which will be returning. There are also some new classes which have never been offered before. I’ll be posting the schedule here on the site once it is finalized. I will be offering a free week long class on the legal ways to change point of view in December, so you’ll want to check that one out. That said, Yellow Highlighter Classes are a different type of class–and it’s time to register now.

Yellow Highlighter Classes are a unique type of class. While other classes offer advice and theory and the occasional homework to teach the basics of one writing related element or another, Yellow Highlighter classes are entirely hands on classes.

Yellow Highlighter classes start where you are by using your own work in progress and working steadily through the manuscript addressing the issues within the manuscript as they come up. Working this way allows class participants to gain an understanding of a variety of topics through each post and each markup. The result is a broader, more internalized, hands on form of learning that results in a completed and edited manuscript if you stick with the classes long enough to work through an entire manuscript.

Yellow Highlighter Classes are different from most other writing classes out there. Yellow Highlighter classes start where you are by using your own work in progress and working steadily through the manuscript addressing the issues within the manuscript as they come up. Working this way allows class participants to gain an understanding of a variety of topics through each post and each markup. The result is a broader, more internalized, hands on form of learning that results in a completed and edited manuscript if you stick with the classes long enough to work through an entire manuscript.

In the awareness stage we’re looking for very descriptive language (especially in the opening of a book where the characters are first becoming aware of each other physically.) Though a lot of people don’t think of writing character descriptions as writing an intimate scene, the character description lays the groundwork for all of the intimate scenes that follow it. It is important in establishing basic awareness between the characters.

Yellow Highlighter Classes are different from most other writing classes out there. Yellow Highlighter classes start where you are by using your own work in progress and working steadily through the manuscript addressing the issues within the manuscript as they come up. Working this way allows class participants to gain an understanding of a variety of topics through each post and each markup. The result is a broader, more internalized, hands on form of learning that results in a completed and edited manuscript if you stick with the classes long enough to work through an entire manuscript.

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About Me

I am an author, former publisher, and an editor for Black Velvet Seductions. When I am not editing books or teaching writing classes I enjoy spending time with family, herding my 18 mostly formerly feral cats, quilting, crocheting, collecting recipes, and reading. You can follow my exploits here.

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Some of the links in the posts on this site are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Some of the books and other products reviewed here are provided to me free of charge in the hope that I will mention them positively here on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers lives. I do have paid advertising on the site -- like the Amazon offerings at the bottoms of most posts. I have not necessarily used those products and am not necessarily recommending them. They are generally things I find interesting, that I may or may not have purchased or may or may not purchase in the future. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.